Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a mom who thought she was good at what she did. She could fold clothes until her fingers bled and smile while stain-sticking the blood out of the carpets. She could tirelessly read and scratch the backs of her children until her eyeballs dried up into prune-shaped objects while singing, "Oh Happy Day" and soaking them in saline solution to reconstitute her sight. She would single-handedly manage three craft projects in three different developmental age groups all while knitting sweaters for the homeless... until today... she lost it... Iumm...I mean, my friend who I am talking about...went WHOLE HOG BALLISTIC! Tears shot out of her face as she angrily stamped her size 10s all around the kitchen until her youngest just stood and stared...not knowing what to do. All because of construction paper. Yes. I said construction paper. I was My friend is very crafty and loves breaking up the stress in her day by yanking out every craft item that her craft closet can hold. Laying out some paper, paints and glue sticks is like a drug in her veins. Calms. Soothes. Makes everything alright. until today... she lost it... My Her youngest is just ecstatic that "Ho Ho" is coming!! He runs through the house asking, "Ho Ho tum-ing? Ho Ho tum-ing?" To make his and my her life a little easier, she decided to make a festive green paper chain that would be a toddler version of the advent calendar. Each night before bed, he could pull off a ring and it would be one day closer to "Ho Ho tum-ing!" They sat and cut, her face began to twitch as he wasn't cutting where she asked him to...then they began taping the rings and counting together...30 days until "Ho Ho!" That's when doubt seeped in...in my her lack-of-sleep stupor, she wondered if it was in fact 30 days until Christmas...could it be? Today was the 25th...Christmas is the 25th... For some reason it wasn't making sense. So, rather than having the chain end one day too soon and having to deal with a toddler who thinks "Ho Ho is tum-ing" when he clearly is not....I she slowly walked to the calendar to do the math. That's when it happened... ...r-r-r-rip... ...r-r-r-rip... ...r-r-r-r-r-r-r-riiiiiip... I turned to find the last 15 minutes of sanity laid before me in holiday green confetti...all over the kitchen floor...that's when my week of worry about our dog's prognosis after the accident, the last 3 weeks of a toddler who has gotten the SAME FRIPPIN' virus three times IN A ROW and is not sleeping well, the two church productions that I have become RESIDENT GO-TO person for all the creative stuff you need, and countless writing assignments I have fallen asleep too early (with the kids WHILE they are saying their prayers) to complete all came to a head... I lost it... He stared... then cried... then we snuggled...in complete silence (except for Wonder Friends). Then... he told my mom! She had sensed my quivering voice the night before when I complained about all I was drowning under and (bless her heart, the best mom in the world) brought me my favorite sandwich in the entire world - only that good b/c it's made by HER! I wish I had a video of him pantomiming the whole thing. He even got the tattered green Holiday chain out of the recycling bin and beat his little fists on the counter! But he has been an angel ever since. Guess it's ok to blow your top as long as no one gets hurt and everyone is still standing when it's over! Ummmm, yeah, it was me...not my friend...wouldn't be a friend of someone THAT kooky! It's construction paper! Sheesh! Get a FREAKIN' GRIP! LMAO! Here's to better days....